This past week, a ban went into effect, making it against the law to text while driving. A $100 fine is attached as a penalty for the offense if caught.
The key concept is “if caught.” Tell that to the truck driver in North Berwick who, accordingly to police reports, became distracted with a cell phone and lost his life when he crashed into an Amtrak train. Tell that to the thousands or more teenagers who either die or get severely injured from car accidents directly related to getting distracted at the wheel.
Legislation was and is needed to help curb cell phone usage while operating a motor vehicle. When we cast our ballots on Election Day, we assume our legislators will develop policy and write laws that will have some direct impact on our lives, hopefully for the better. This is a prime example of setting aside party politics for saving lives. Implementing policies like a texting-while-driving ban is something that our legislature should be focusing their efforts on rather than things like making the whoopie pie our state treat.
But is this texting ban with a simple $100 fee really going to solve the problem?
As someone who has texted while driving in the past, I’m not so sure everyone will stop cold turkey, though it could make some people think twice.
We are in an instantaneous gratification society in which we need to be constantly checking our emails, Facebook updates, and tweeting our every move. Most of this can be done without being anchored to a desktop computer screen. Devices are in the palm of our hands, from so-called smart phones to computer tablets, which makes it very easy to continue the trend.
A death caused by a texting while driving incident should be used as a catalyst to evaluate our own lives. Is that one text message really that important? Could it just wait until you reach your destination or should you just pull over to the side of the road? Maybe we need to take the 20 minutes or so that we are in our cars on the way to or from work to take a break from the constant barrage of media communications. I find driving is one of the only times I can really reflect on how my day or even life in general is going ”“ unless of course there is a lot of traffic on the road.
Finding time when we can be by ourselves without having people physically around us or virtually communicating with us is hard. We all need some “me time” as Madea in the Tyler Perry movies likes to point out. While there are plenty of other distractions while driving that could cause accidents, banning texting is a step in the right direction. You can fill that void instead with reflection or just focusing on the task at hand: Driving. There are plenty of people out there who obviously have trouble multitasking, let alone just driving in general. Hopefully, this new law and the recent tragedy in North Berwick will be enough to convince people to put off that text until they’re off the road.
— Justin Chenette is a host of Youth in Politics, airing on WPME Sundays at 2 p.m. and WPXT at 8:30 a.m. He is a former member of the Maine State Board of Education, a graduate of Thornton Academy and is currently attending Lyndon State College, majoring in broadcast news. Follow him on Twitter @justinchenette, like him on Facebook.com/JustinChenetteOfficial, or visit his website at justinchenette.com.
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